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player ready...Rob Komosa was nervous before the Palatine High School graduation ceremony Sunday, thinking of the thousands of people in the school’s gymnasium for the 500 graduates in bright red caps and gowns.
So while he waited in the school’s parking lot, he fidgeted, blowing on the tube that controls his electric wheelchair to make it rock.
“It’s more like I can’t sit still,” said Komosa, 19, who was paralyzed from the neck down when he was injured in football practice in 1999.
Komosa, who has completed enough credits to graduate, plans to return to Palatine for one more year of study, taking advantage of a state law that allows special education students to remain in high school until they are 21.
But he participated in the graduation ceremony anyway, as a way to reflect on the milestone of finishing his required coursework. He was injured while attending Rolling Meadows High School and transferred two years ago to Palatine, which has a renowned program for special education.
“I’m growing older, and I’m starting to get a clue about what’s going on in life,” Komosa said. “Situations will always arise, no matter who you are. You have to learn to handle it.”
Indeed, students at Palatine who do not know Komosa say they are inspired by his positive attitude. He always has a smile as he passes in the hallways, they said.
Vanessa Castellano, 15, who will be a sophomore next fall, called Komosa an inspiration.
“It’s kind of an eye-opener,” she said. “You have to be grateful for what you have.”
Allison Nowak, 15, who will be a junior, said she was proud her school attracts many students who have disabilities. “Every school should,” she said.
A committee has raised money for a fully accessible house in Mt. Prospect and a van that can hold his wheelchair. Komosa said again Sunday how grateful he is for the generosity and support that he knows not all quadriplegics receive.
In fact, Komosa is hoping to help raise money for a friend, Rocky Clark, who was paralyzed in 2000 while playing football for Eisenhower High School in Blue Island.
Komosa is also focusing on college and a career in computers or counseling.
“I have so many interests, it’s hard to decide,” said Komosa, who plans to take creative writing, math and psychology in the fall. “But I want to do something to help people.”